Friday, May 11, 2018

O'FALLON, Ill. (BP) -- It is inevitable, you know. Those precious babies melt your heart, and then one day they break it.

Disclaimer: I am an empty-nester, and I was by no means a perfect parent of perfect children in drawing some conclusions from my years of parenting. Knowing that parenting as a team is crucial, my husband took an active role. While many decisions naturally occurred when he was not home, we vowed to have a united front no matter who was leading the way. Read More

DALLAS (BP) -- Louisiana pastor Brad Jurkovich has announced he will nominate Ken Hemphill for Southern Baptist Convention president at the convention's June 12-13 annual meeting in Dallas.

A coalition of Southern Baptists stated their intent to nominate Hemphill via Louisiana's Baptist Message newsjournal Feb. 1, but no specific individual was identified as volunteering to place the former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president's name in nomination. Read More

Gaines, pastor of Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., specifically addresses the controversy involving past statements by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson on women, divorce and domestic violence. Gaines' statement also touched on racial diversity and ways Southern Baptists can pray for the SBC leading up to its annual meeting in Dallas, June 12-13. Read More

PAHOA, Hawaii (BP) -- Amid a lava flow that has destroyed three dozen structures and the threat of a violent volcanic eruption, Hawaii's churches "are working in really neat ways," said Chris Martin, executive director of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC).

Congregations on Hawaii's Big Island have banded together to pray, secure housing for some of the area's 2,000 evacuees and, beginning next week, operate a mobile shower unit.

"The main focus of our people so far," Martin told Baptist Press, has been ministry "to the needs that are immediate. But our history and our practice has been a long-term presence with those that have been affected by disasters." Read More

Women, children and a few young men forced to fight for Boko Haram comprised the freed captives, Nigerian Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu said in a May 7 press release. He did not give an exact number of those freed, but said the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) retrieved the captives from Boko Haram enclaves in four villages in the Baba local government area of Borno State. Read More

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